Look, there are legitimate differences and comparisons that can be made when deciding which candidate to support. However, I have seen some pretty ridiculous ones lately from Bernie fans trying to knock down Hillary.
The first shows Hillary’s home in comparison to Bernie’s. The implication is that Hillary is out of touch with us because she lives in a nice rich mansion while Bernie lives in a standard family home. 
But come on — Hillary was married to the freakin’ President of the Goddamn United States of America, you know. I’d like to think that our Presidents can live nicely. Hell, I’d love to have a house like that. What’s wrong with living in a nice house that you worked all your life to earn?
So why does that disqualify her or make her less of a good candidate? Because she has money? Some of our best Presidents have been insanely rich — Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy weren’t that bad, nor for that matter was George Washington. And Hillary was not born rich like those guys were.
The second meme that’s bugging me today me compares the years each has been in public service, as if that was all that mattered. Really? All it takes is more years than the other person? Well, by that standard, Senator Orrin Hatch is the most qualified guy in the country to be President. And boy, that Strom Thurmond had more experience than anyone — who cares if he was a hypocritical, lying racist bastard unfit to even step into the Capitol building?
Many of these same anti-Hillary people supported Barack Obama at a time where he had much less experience than she did — but now, apparently, that is important.
Mind you, I am a Bernie supporter but this is not how I want him to win. Seriously folks, talk about their differences on the issues. Let’s not debate silly things. Leave that for the Republicans.
A clever April Fool’s joke is always welcome, especially when it’s just plain funny, like an Onion article.
The kind of April Fool’s joke where you say a lie and then after everyone believes you, you say “April Fools!” is generally not appreciated. It’s not really clever and certainly distracts from people who really do have serious things happen to them tomorrow. Besides, anyone can do that. It doesn’t take skill or talent to say “Oh no, I broke my leg! Ha ha, April Fools.”
However, if your April Fool’s day lie is humorous, very clever, and most likely not believable, I’d love to read it. A good laugh is always welcome. (“I’ve just been asked to be Trump’s running mate!”)
Anyway, please be clever if you’re posting an April Fool’s joke. Thanks.
“Jesus Christ, what do I have to say before you guys stop supporting me?” Trump asked at a rally recently.
“I’ve said before that I could shoot someone and you’d still vote for me but I was exaggerating — but now I think it’s true,” He said as he mopped his brow and cursed softly under his breath.
“I mean, come on — I’ve called for people to be beaten up at my rallies, said that women who have abortions should be jailed, made fun of a reporter’s handicap, called Mexican immigrants rapists, and said racist things about the President. My campaign manager beats up women and 
I support him, and I’ve been endorsed by the KKK. What more can I do?
“And policy positions? I made huge promises without once saying how I would accomplish anything. I’ve practically admitted I know nothing about foreign policy.
“And you Bible thumpers out there still support me, even after I misquote your holy book and can’t name a single part of it? Jesus, I’d think you’d hate me already for my adultery and many wives. I mean, isn’t that one of your top ten sins or something?”
Trump bowed his head and seemed to be holding back tears. “For fuck’s sake, I never wanted to be President,” he mumbled. “I just wanted some attention.”
The crowd waved its confederate flags and cheered, once more ignoring everything he said.
No, a bird landing on a podium doesn’t mean anything. It’s not a sign from God. There’s no secret symbolism (this isn’t a movie or a book!).
It’s just a bird.
Still pretty cool, though. And the best part is that it inspired a bunch of funny memes. #FeeltheBerd
The National Inquirer is reporting that Ted Cruz has had multiple affairs, including one with a Trump staffer.
Now this probably won’t matter much to Republican evangelical voters, who have already shown, with their support of Trump, that to them, “Christian values” really don’t exist.
It should be pointed out that there are no hard facts in this story, but then again, the Inquirer broke the Lewinski/Clinton scandal, the John Edwards scandal, and even the Gary Hart scandal — so there may be something there.
In any event, this all avoids the big question:
How desperate do you have to be to have sex with Ted Cruz?
I, Michael A. Ventrella, being of sound mind and sound body, hereby endorse Trump for the Republican nomination. I urge all my Republican friends to vote for Trump.
Here’s why:
1. If elected, he will be one of the least effective Presidents. Both Democrats and Republicans will refuse to work with him.
2. He’s better than Cruz. I mean, seriously, everyone hates Cruz but what makes Cruz scarier is that he could possibly accomplish some of his evil plan.
3. Trump really doesn’t stand for anything other than Trump. He has held liberal views in the past and is holding conservative ones now because it gets him attention. I’d rather have that than a religious crusader like Cruz who thinks he’s doing God’s will. Trump just thinks he’s God.
4. If Trump is the nominee, every poll shows that the Democrats are a shoo-in. He’s the most popular among the extremists in the Republican party and of all the possible GOP candidates does the worst in a head-to-head match-up with either Bernie or Hillary. (Bernie does better against him in case you’re wondering.)
5. With Trump as the candidate, the Democrat’s chances rise for taking back not only the Senate but also the House.
So here’s to Trump: Long may he continue to destroy the Republican party.
by Guest Blogger David Gerrold
So, here’s an alternate scenario for November.
Let’s look at the numbers.
Donald Trump does not break 40% in his primary victories. That’s not 40% of the electorate — it’s 40% of the republican voters. That’s the fanatics, the whackadoodles, and the energized rednecks. It’s the ignorati — the ones who hold up signs saying, “Keep your govt hands off my medicare.”
Let’s assume he gets the republican nomination. Despite all the machinations of the party, lets assume he shows up at the convention with 1237 pledged delegates. The convention turns into a massive floor fight. The convention is supposed to be that moment when the party unifies — but not this time.
Or, let’s say he shows up with 1236 pledged delegates and loses the first nominating ballot. The convention turns into a massive floor fight and possibly a riot. There will be protesters and demonstrators outside the convention hall. There will be a lot of tension. Things will get ugly.
Either way, the convention becomes an embarrassment and the party adjourns in greater disunity than ever before.
(By the way, Trump broke the law when he promised Carson a cabinet post for his endorsement. Will there be an indictment? Or will this be conveniently forgotten?)
The key point here is that the republican convention will not unify around Trump — and if anyone else gets handed the nomination, he will not be able to unify the party either, because the Trump supporters will be so angry, they’ll quit or walk away or try to mount a third party effort.
If Trump does get the nomination, the idea that the republican party will try to mount a third party effort against him, so as to throw the election into the house of representatives is a fascinating scenario, but don’t hold your breath. Organizing that would be a monstrous problem.
So … it’s either Trump or Cruz or Romney or who the hell knows, trying to unify a party that has been 
ripped apart by evangelicals, tea partiers, Trump supporters, and what remains of a tattered establishment.
If it’s Trump — and I suspect it will be Trump — if he’s only pulling 40% of the republican vote now, how will he do in the general election? (Or substitute Cruz, who does even worse.) Not well.
This fracturing of the republican party means that many republicans will stay home in disgust, feeling that there’s no one to vote for.
It also means that many republican women — even those who hate Hillary Clinton — will end up voting against their own party’s candidate. (This is not wishful thinking on my part. This was a real phenomenon in 2008 and 2012. It will be even more so in 2016.)
I don’t think the remaining primaries are going to be easy on Hillary — but, the prolonged primary season of 2008 was good for both Hillary and Barack Obama, because it gave them both good practice. It hardened Obama for the campaign ahead. This year, Hillary and Bernie are both being tempered (strengthened) by the forges of the primary battle.
But this is the point — the democrats, for all their various faults (all of which the concern trolls will be quick to list) have learned how to organize, have learned how to unify, and have demonstrated that they have learned the importance of a well-planned ground game.
The democratic convention of 2016 will be as well-constructed a show as it is possible for them to create — it should be at least as good as the 2008 convention.
So, post-convention, the republicans will see a slump in their numbers. Post-convention, the democrats will see a bump. This should result in adding 5% to the lead of the democratic nominee.
If Trump is the candidate, he will attempt to bully the democrats. It won’t work. The debates will be fascinating. Either Hillary or Bernie will demonstrate just how little Trump actually knows about anything.
If Cruz is the candidate, he’ll have to run on what a terrible job President Obama has done. This will give the democratic candidate the opportunity to point out that DESPITE REPUBLICAN OBSTRUCTIONISM, including Cruz’s own effort to shut down the government, President Obama has still managed to cut the deficit and get the economy back on track.
If Cruz or Trump attempt to denigrate Obama’s record, it’s the perfect opportunity for Clinton or Sanders to list the successes of this president and promise to build on those successes. It’s a bear trap for the republicans.
And … President Obama has made it clear he intends to lend his support to the democratic nominee. If it’s Hillary, she’ll have the President, she’ll have Michelle, she’ll have Bill, all campaigning for her. She’ll have three of the most popular democrats working to energize the base and get out the vote. A lot of other high-profile democrats will be given their moment in the spotlight too.
And if it’s Hillary, expect there to be an evening for Bernie Sanders to speak to his supporters and explain that even if they haven’t won the nomination, they have won a very big victory — they will have been able to force more progressive issues into the party platform, they will have moved not just Hillary Clinton, but the whole party in the right direction — and that it’s time to keep pushing in that direction because every step in the right direction, even a few small ones, is a good thing.
If it’s Bernie — well, the convention will be an old-fashioned revival meeting that leaves people breathless and inspired — and Bernie will pull a lot of Trump’s voters away from him.
Now this might all be wishful thinking on my part — but it’s based on two things.
Every time I’ve said the republicans can’t be that stupid, I’ve been wrong. So this time, I’m predicting they will be that stupid.
Every time I’ve said that the democrats have a pretty good idea on how to win the election, I’ve been right. So … I’ll stick with that.
The one thing that is every bit as critical as the presidential election is the downticket races. This is one area that the dems have not mastered as well as the republicans. But this year, with the republican ground game possibly in tatters, who knows?
We shall see.
Nebula and Hugo award winning author David Gerrold is the author of over 50 books, several hundred articles and columns, and over a dozen television episodes. TV credits include episodes of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Land Of The Lost, Logan’s Run, and many others. Novels include WHEN HARLIE WAS ONE, THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF, the “War Against the Chtorr” septology, The “Star Wolf” trilogy, The “Dingilliad” young adult trilogy, and more. The autobiographical tale of his son’s adoption, THE MARTIAN CHILD won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novelette of the Year and was the basis for the 2007 movie starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Joan Cusack. His web page is here.
EDITED AND UPDATED BLOG POST
“‘The law in an ass.’ Charles Dickens said that.”
My law school professor saw my raised hand and nodded for me to respond.
“With all due respect, professor, a character in a Dickens novel said that. It’s not the same thing as him saying it.”
She waved me down and brushed it away, as if my objection was meaningless, but it’s true — you can’t hold someone to an internal quote made by someone else. Some of the characters in my novels have said terrible things that are the exact opposite of what I believe.
Which brings me to Fox News and Bernie Sanders.
Fox is attacking Bernie for this quote made at the recent debate: “White people don’t know what it’s like to live in the ghetto.”
Ooh, bad statement — it implies that only blacks are in the ghetto, and shows a real misunderstanding of the situation.
When I first blogged about this, I said “Except he never said that. He was quoting someone else. And that wasn’t even the exact quote; it’s a rewriting of it.”
I was basing that on other posts people had written, giving the quote from Bernie.
I should have known better.
I have since watched the clip (inserted above) and it’s clear that while the first part of the quote is from someone else, he then says “So to answer your question…” and replies with the part that is in contention, making it clear that this is him speaking and not the original woman.
Here’s the entire exact quote:
“I was with young people in the Black Lives Matter movement. A young lady comes up to me and says you don’t understand what police do in certain black communities. ‘You don’t understand the degree to which we are terrorized. I’m not just talking about the horrible shootings we have seen that we have to end and hold police officers accountable. I’m talking about everyday activities where police officers are bullying people.’ So, to answer your question, when you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto and to be poor. You don’t know what it’s like to be hassled when you walk down the street or get dragged out of a car. I believe as a nation in the year 2016, we must be firm in making it clear: We will end institutional racism and reform a broken criminal justice system.”
So I apologize. While I am a Bernie supporter, I refuse to be misleading in order to support him. His statement was poorly said, and he has apologized and clarified his statement:
“What I meant by that is I think many white people are not aware of the kinds of pressures and the kind of police oppression that sometimes takes place within the African-American community. I don’t want to be lectured about talking about poverty whether it’s white, black, Latino. Nobody in this campaign has talked about it more, nobody in this campaign cycle has proposed more specific ideas on how to address poverty.”
And that was all him saying that.
ventrellaquest.com 